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Honda Motors is reporting a 20% boost in motorcycle sales for Q3 2011 when compared to the same period last year (note: Honda calls this time period Q2 for accounting purposes, but we use Q3 so as lessen the confusion when comparing numbers to other companies).

This increase brings Honda’s total third quarter motorcycle sales to 3.276 million units, with 6.027 million total units sold in the first half of 2011. Despite a record for motorcycles sales in Q3, Honda still experienced a substantial hit to its bottom line, with the company’s net income dropping 55% over the quarter (¥60.4 million), and 77% over the first half of the year (¥92.2 million).

After being courted by several major OEMs according to our sources, electric motorcycle manufacturer Brammo received a minority investment by  Polaris Industries today. The move will give Polaris access to Brammo’s proprietary electric powertrain technology, and positions the large OEM to enter further into the electric motorcycle market as a strategic partner to the Oregonian company. In the process of this investment, Brammo has also closed a $28 million Series B round of funding that also included contributions from repeat investor Alpine Energy and first-time Brammo investor NorthPort Investments, LLC.

Polaris has already been aggressively expanding into new market segments this year by buying both Indian Motorcycles and electric car manufacturer GEM. Polaris’s investment in Brammo, the two companies will form a strategic partnership that will presumably see Brammo’s electric drivetrain in different Polaris Industry products, which gives the American company a formidable ally in the move to electric-powered vehicles. For Brammo, the news bodes well as it not only means an infusion of fresh capital, a roadmap to further funding, and a step closer to a possible exit, but Polaris will also be sharing its vast array of technical, sales, and support knowledge to the electric startup.

Harley-Davidson has reported its third quarter sales and earnings to its stockholders, and the Bar & Shield brand is showing a modest up-tick in its Q3 sales. Growing 5.1% globally (61,838 units) for Q3, compared to 2010, Harley-Davidison has had similar growth in the US, where sales were up 5.4% (42,640 units). Year-to-date (YTD) sales globally were up 4.9% (194,829 units), continuing the bottoming-out trend in 2011 (up 4.7% in the US, or 127,930 units). Despite the modest sales increases, Harley-Davidson’s financials are significantly stronger than before, with the company posting a 95.9% increase in income from continuing operations.

Polaris has just released its third quarter figures, with the American brand reporting a 23% increase ($35.6 million) in sales revenue for the months of July, August, and September when compared to the same time period last year. Those Q3 numbers continue the company’s upward trend this year, as year-to-date (YTD) sales for Polaris, when compared 2010, are up 37% overall ($111.4 million).

While sales have risen across all of Polaris’s market segments, its on-road vehicle segment, specifically its Victory Motorcycles line, has lead the growth for the company. With Q3 sales up 77%, and YTD sales up 83%, Polaris has been making strides against a market that has seen a massive decline from its Japanese competitors.

UPDATE: Ducati North America sent me a note explaining that these ads were not a part of corporate-initiated ad campaign. Their best guess is that they are spec-creative, or something done by the company’s Ecuadorian distributor.

Talking in generalities, Ducati is one of the better companies in the motorcycle industry when it comes to handling its market communications, and in an industry that’s generally abysmal at making creative advertisements, you can make of that praise as you will. Of course every now and then Bologna produces a dud campaign, and well…through each others’ failures, we can hopefully make progress. It’s not that the concept being used here is a bad one, it’s just not readily apparent (it’s also averaging below a 2.5/10 rating on Ads of the World right now).

Trying to make a statement about how owning a Ducati motorcycle is as fantastic of an accomplishment as becoming invisible, turning into other objects, walking through walls, and levitating, we’re not sure that the comparison, though clever, is readily apparent when these photos stand on their own on a page. Better pitched in the idea room than executed on the paper, after the third advertisement or so it finally hits you (the walking through walls one was the “ahh-ha!” moment for us). But as for a clearly communicated message, there is a bit left wanting here from Ducati and its ad agency, The Grey Group…that and the teapot thing is just damn silly. More examples after the jump.

The past recession, and its possible double-dipping nature, still has the motorcycle industry on its heels. This fact can be no better exemplified than by the latest move from Yamaha, whose board of directors recently voted to merge its North American operations under one roof. In an effort to restructure itself more appropriately, Yamaha Motor Canada will become a subsidiary of Yamaha Motor USA, which would in turn take responsibility for the entire North American market.

Officially official now, Cycle World has been sold to print media giant Bonnier Corporation, owner of such titles as Popular Science, Parenting, Field & Stream, and other niche-market publications. Acquired from the Hearst Corporation, Cycle World will maintain its current editorial and writing staff as it moves to Bonnier, and from what we’ve gathered talking to CW employees the transition is being viewed favorably, and is in the best interest of the publication. This is the second time Cycle World has changed hands this year, as the publication was sold by Hachette Filipacchi to Hearst this past February.

Not too different of an analysis from the one I did regarding the Ducati Diavel, the business case surrounding the Husqvarna Nuda is all about extending brand attributes, reaching new demographics, and putting more volume into sales figures. While I will reserve judgment on what the Nuda 900 is as a motorcycle for when A&R actually gets a chance to swing a leg over one, the positioning and reasoning behind Husqvarna’s first true-blooded street bike can be analyzed by us before the Nuda hits dealership floors early next year.

A Swedish brand based in Italy and owned by German company, there can be little wonder as to why Husqvarna suffers from an identity crisis. When the small, but eclectic, dirt bike manufacturer was brought into the folds of BMW, many loyal to the Husqvarna brand wondered and were concerned about what was in store for the company.

If brand loyalists were waiting for the first shoe to drop, then surely the release of the Husqvarna Nuda 900 & 900R is that moment. A departure from a history of motorcycles that like to get grime under their fingernails, the Nuda 900 represents Husqvarna’s attempt at a pure-street offering — a move both Husqvarna and BMW hope will pave the way for more street models, and thus more sales volume. The positioning and branding of the Nuda 900 is also especially interesting, as adding a street dimension to the Husqvarna name is certainly a new dynamic to the brand, but how to do so with parent company BMW looking over one’s shoulder is another affair all together.

It is a tumultuous time for MV Agusta right now. Recently bought back from Harley-Davidson, MV Agusta not only changed back into Italian ownership, but the company also saw its massive debt removed, its business structure massively revamped, and its product line-up about to burst several key new models. With the passing of Claudio Castiglioni, MV Agusta lost its paterfamilias, leaving many to wonder how the company would navigate its turbulent waters.

Writing an open letter to the motorcycle industry, Giovanni Castiglioni, CEO of MV Agusta and son of Claudio Castiglioni, not only pays tribute to his father and his vision, but also aims to alleviate concerns about the next chapter in MV Agusta’s story. The path for any Italian motorcycle company right now is uncertain, and MV fans are anxious to see what Castiglioni has in store for the rebirth of this iconic brand. While we’re still seeing the tail-end of Harley-Davidson’s playbook for the Italian company, over the next few years we will begin to see the changes and projects from the new Italian regime.

Where that leadership will take MV Agusta as a brand and as a company is not immediately clear, but it is worthy to note that not only has the company changed its corporate ownership, but MV Agusta has also now undergone a generational change in its core management. Though likely not to be talked about in great deal in the mainstream, make no mistake about how this will factor into changes at MV Agusta.

With the Italian company reported facing serious cash flow problems, and a bevy of new models to debut in the coming months, all of these factors create plenty to watch at MV Agusta. Certain to be full of highs and lows, the only thing we know for certain about the company’s future going forward is that it will be interesting. Giovanni Castiglioni’s open letter is reproduced in full after the jump.

An article from our friends at CMG tipped us off to the fact that Zero Motorcycle has begun promoting its electric motorcycles through several Costco stores in Canada. Taking a page from Kawasaki’s playbook in working with Costco (which is itself a take on what automobile dealers have been doing with the warehouse brand for years), Zero currently has displays in six Canadian Costco warehouse stores, working as a part of the wholesaler’s Membership Benefits Program. Like the Kawasaki program, Costco isn’t actually selling Zero Motorcycles, but instead Costco members recieve a special value package if they purchase a Zero through the promotion.

If that raises your eyebrows, here is a quick primer on the Costco business model. Generally speaking, Costco keeps its company very efficient and lean by keeping very low inventories — I’ve heard it quoted that the company won’t carry more inventory than what it can sell in one to two weeks. Helping drive that turnover are the low prices that the company is known for, but instead of doing a high volume/low margin sales approach, Costco’s true bread & butter is its membership fees.

All is not well regarding the new MV Agusta F3, several sources have now told Asphalt & Rubber. Teasing the F3 motorcycle for almost two years now, the three-cylinder supersport has been on the radar of two-wheeled enthusiasts since well before its 2010 debut at the EICMA show. While the latest creation from Varese is undisputedly a stunner, and promises some more than peppy performance and features, eyebrows within the industry were raised with its very pre-mature debut in Milan, and its accompanying lack of any real concrete technical specifications.

With products traditionally launched at the November EICMA show going on sale immediately the next model year, MV Agusta made a shocking announcement in 2010 that the F3 would be a 2012 model. Obviously launched with the intention of generating immediate buzz about the newly re-acquired MV Agusta brand, and its goal of becoming a larger volume producer (and actually a profitable company for a change), the F3 and its progeny like the MV Agusta Brutale B3 are supposed to usher in a new era for the Italian brand.

Apparently teased early to help prove demand for MV’s new product offering, this new ethos unfortunately has apparently done little to sway creditors and investors on the viabiliy of the brand, especially since the names associated with driving MV Agusta into the ground are still associted with the decidedly not-so-new regime. Though the Castiglionis were able to negotiate a stellar deal with Harley-Davidson regarding the purchase of MV Agusta (they bought the company for one euro, and got an operating cash flow of 20 million in the bank), according to our sources that are close to MV, the Italian company has had a hard time raising additional working capital, and has also found negotiations with parts suppliers to be difficult, with the outside firms demanding to be paid up-front for their wares.